Summer Rain
by Patrick the Stump
Summary: Katie was many things, but she most definitely wasn't boring. - Katie/Oliver for Rachel


**A/N**: This is for Rachel. (this carnival ride we call life) Happy birthday Rach, hope you have a lovely day!

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><p><span>Summer Rain<span>

Katie tucked a strand of stray hair behind her ear, and reached for her notepad and pen.

"Katie, will you go check on table five, please?" said her boss, Julia, with a kindly smile, and Katie nodded absentmindedly.

Julia was too sweet to fire Katie, even if she _was_ a terrible waitress and a lousy cook as well as being bad at just about everything else. She'd spilt numerous drinks, miscounted dozens of bills and messed up too many recipes to count, but for some reason, Julia still kept her on. It was lucky, really, that Julia was so nice.

Katie was nineteen, living in a small apartment a few blocks down, and still trying to figure out what to do with her life. She'd said goodbye to her parents and ran off to seek her fortune, which she was still working at, by the way. She'd applied for numerous Quidditch clubs, but to be honest, she didn't have the talent or the dedication to get as far as she would've liked. She'd gotten a few good NEWT grades, but she'd never been especially academic and she wouldn't be able to stand having one of those boring ministry desk jobs where she'd have to do the same thing, day in and day out. So, instead, she'd found herself a job in a cosy little café. The pay wasn't the best and it had its flaws, of course, but it was nice and paid the rent and she could drink as much free coffee as she liked.

She walked away from table five, knowing that she'd missed an order, or got something wrong, or at the very least, would end up knocking something over, when she heard the bell above the entry jingle behind her.

A tall, broad-shouldered young man walked in, a broomstick swung over his shoulder and his robes a little dirty with mud. He collapsed onto one of the comfier chairs, closing his eyes and raising one hand to his temples.

"May I take your order?" Katie asked the man, after shuffling clumsily towards his table. When the man looked up, a smile spread across his face.

"Katie?" he asked, almost astonished.

"Oliver? Is that you?" Katie exclaimed, instantly wrapping her arms around the burly boy. She pulled back, a smile playing on her own lips, too.

"Merlin, I haven't seen you since I left Hogwarts. How have you been?" asked Oliver.

"Great," said Katie, and it was true. Life hadn't turned out exactly how she'd hoped, but that was the adventure of it. She was happy, at least. "You're playing Quidditch professionally, aren't you?"

"Sort of," said Oliver, rolling his eyes, "It'll all take off soon, I mean, I'm obviously the best keeper out there," he winked "but people seem to underestimate my talent."

"Oh, I bet," Katie smiled, "Anyway, can I get you anything?" she nodded down at her notepad.

"Two coffees, please," he said, as she turned away towards the kitchens.

~xx~

Katie leaned against the worktop, trying to gather her thoughts while the kettle beside her spat out steam. Oliver was still the same mischievous, childish Gryffindor she'd known at school, and Katie liked that. Everyone around her seemed to be growing up far to quickly. The war had made many people far to old for their years, and Katie seemed to be the only one not thinking about careers or marriage or children.

The whistling kettle pulled her from her thoughts, and she hastily poured the water into the cups and grabbed a handful of milk and sugar.

Katie placed the two cups in front of Oliver, and said "Well Oliver, it was really nice catching up."

"We're not finished yet, Katie," Oliver smiled "Sit yourself down. I've yet to tell you about my top ten greatest saves and I haven't even bored you to death with the story about the time I accidentally hit Viktor Krum over the head with my broom."

Katie giggled at the mental image, but said, "As much fun as that sounds, I have to finish my shift. Maybe some other time?"

"I bought you a coffee – really, it would be rude not to drink it," he persisted, "And anyway, it's not busy, I'm sure your boss won't mind."

Katie glanced over at Julia, who was leaning casually against the counter and trying to read her romantic novel that she was trying to hide behind the till. She supposed Oliver was right. The shop was hardly teeming with customers.

"Go on then," Katie decided, sitting down.

~xx~

"Two more coffees, please," Oliver asked Mia, Katie's fellow waitress who was looking rather disgruntled to say the least.

"Yes sir," she said, nodding politely at Oliver, "But Katie, you can't spend all your shift flirting, you do need to work, you know." Katie blushed slightly and stood up.

"Oliver, I really should be getting back to work. It was nice catching up though." Katie smiled as she walked back towards the kitchens, inwardly calling Mia every nasty name under the sun. She was having a nice time with Oliver, thank you very much. Actually, who was she kidding? She was having a brilliant time with Oliver. It was nice to have someone a little more fun, a little more free spirited around, instead of all the mopey, angsty not quite adults she usually had to endure.

"What on earth do you think you're doing, missy?" said Julia sternly, as Katie wandered back into the kitchen.

Katie, who was shocked at her boss' sudden change of heart, floundered for an explanation. She decided on an apology instead, and said, "It won't happen again, Julia – I'm sorry, I shouldn't have just abandoned my shift like that."

"Oh, I don't care about the shift, it's that boy I don't want you abandoning. Look at him - he's bloody gorgeous! Get yourself back out there, love, and don't take no for an answer. If I was ten years younger and twenty stone lighter, well, you really don't want to know what I'd be doing with him right now."

Katie spluttered as Julia winked and pushed her back out of the door. She glanced back at Julia, who was grinning furiously, and towards Mia who was just plain furious, and then finally to Oliver who was half way to the door, and made a snap decision.

"Hey Oliver, wait up!"

~xx~

"It's raining," she stated, standing outside the café and staring into the street ahead. The ground was covered in puddles and the air was muggy and almost solid with humidity. It was that type of rain that falls after a heat wave, the kind that's warm and thick and pretty to watch. _It's colourful rain_, Katie thought. _Normal rain is grey and soggy, but in summer when everything's still in full bloom and people are still wearing their summer clothes, it's kind of nice_. Still – Katie wasn't too keen on the idea of getting soaked through to her knickers.

"Umm, I think I'll wait here for the rain to stop," said Katie, cursing herself for not having the sense to bring an umbrella.

"What? You're not scared of a bit of rain, are you?" Oliver grinned, stepping out from under the shop canopy. The rain must've been heavy, as Oliver was soaked within seconds. He just stood there, smiling at Katie through the sheets of rain.

"Don't be so boring," he stuck his tongue out at her, screwing his face up.

Katie scoffed. She'd been called plenty of things in her life, but never boring. She was going to prove him wrong. She stomped hard in the nearest puddle, splashing the pair of them with muddy water. Before she could curse herself for wearing her extremely soluble plimsolls, she was running down the empty street, Oliver quick on her tail.

~xx~

She skidded to a halt, dripping wet and breathless, grinning from ear to ear. Oliver shook his hair like a wet dog, and the silly, almost puppy-like face he was pulling only added to the picture. Katie giggled, and tried in vane to wring out her sodden jumper.

"That was fun," Katie panted, as Oliver leaned tiredly against the wall.

Oliver leaned forward, placing a soft kiss on Katie's lips. Before she had the chance to close her eyes, he pulled away again, leaving her lips tingling and the butterflies in her tummy going berserk.

"Yeh," he replied, "It was."

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><p><strong>AN**: Hope you enjoyed it Rachel, and anyone else who happened to stumble across it. A huge thank you to Chi for Beta-ing.

Please Review.


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